Method of stencilling pile fabrics by suction



April T H. L. SHUTTLEWORTH ETAL 2,419,694

METHOD OF STENCILLING FILE FABRICS BY SUCTION Filed Oct 26, 1944 2 Sheets-$heet l M" 2% Mi a f ATTORNEYS April 29, 1947. 2,419,694

METHOD OF STENCILLING FILE FABRICS BY SUCTION H. L. SHUTTLEWORTH EI'AL..

Filed Oct. 26, 1944 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 mad MM IN BY ATTORNEY:

Patented Apr. 29;

METHOD OF STENCILLING PILE FABRICS BY SUCTION Howard L. Shuttleworth, Amsterdam, and Garfield J. Underwood and Lewis R. Jones, Broadalbin, N. Y., assignors to Mohawk Carpet Mills, Inc.

Application October 26, 1944, Serial No. 560,448

1 Claim.

This invention relates to the printing of textile fabrics for the purpose of reproducing patterns on the surface thereof. More particularly,"

the invention is concerned with a novel method for printing patterns on the pile surface of a pile fabric, which can be efficiently practiced at low cost. By the use of the new method, it is possible to print sharp, clean designs upona pile surface and at the same time, to cause the coloring matter to permeate the pile to the backing of the fabric, so that crushing or distortion of the pile will not bring into view uncolored portions thereof. A pile fabric printed by the new method, accordingly, resembles a fabric with a figured pile that has been produced by the use of colored yarns in the weavng operation, but

the printed fabric can be manufactured at substantially less cost than the woven one.

Pile fabrics in which the pile is formed of tufts made-of yarns of different colors arranged to produce designs are commonly of Axminster or Wilton weave. In Axminster weaving, the tuft yarns are wound on tube frames, one for each row of tufts across the fabric, and each frame carries separate supplies of yarns required for the formation of the tufts in its row. As a repeat of the pattern may include a large number of rows of tufts, it will be apparent that much expense and time are involved in the preparation of the tube frames before weaving can be started. Also, the equipment required for the production of Axminster fabrics represents a large investment, and whenever a change in pattern is to be made, the loom is idle while a new set of tube frames is prepared or installed.

or else two sets of frames must be provided with one set undergoing preparation while the other is in use.

In Wilton weaving, the tufts are made of warp yarns of different colors, and these yarns are raised from the body of the fabric to form tufts in accordance with the requirements of the pattern. A considerable part of each yam may, accordingly, be embedded within the fabric where it is invisible, and as the tuft yarns are ordinarily made of wool, the large quantities re-. quired in a Wilton fabric make such fabrics expensive.

The present invention is directed to the provision of a method of producing pile fabrics having a figured pile in which the tuft yarns are colored by a printing operation and the coloring 2 the pile which are of the same color are printed in one stage, and in this operation, use is made of a stencil sheet which has pervious areas corresponding to those where the color is to appear in the design. During the printing operation, the stencil sheet is brought into light contact with the tips of the tufts and simultaneously, the coloring matter is forced through the sheet from """the rear and suction is applied to the back, of a the fabric. By'thus forcng the coloring matter through the stencil sheet, while the latter engages the pile so lightly as not to distort the tufts, and at the same time, applying suction at the rear surface of the fabric, the full length of each tuft is colored and the colored areas have sharp edges without blurring.

For a better understanding of the invention,

matter is caused to penetrate the pile so that the entire exposed length of each tuft is colored. In the practice of the new method, the areas of reference may be made to the accompanying drawings, in which Fig. 1 is a longitudinal sectional view of one form of apparatus for the practice of the method;

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary sectional view on the line 2-2 of Fig. 17"

Fig. 3 is a view of the apparatus in side elevation;

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary plan View of the apparatus;

Fig. 5 is a view in end elevation of one of the adjustable supports for the drum; and

Fig. 6 is a sectional view on the line 6--6 of Fig. 5.

The apparatus illustrated in the drawings cperates to print upon the fabric while the latter is advancing and it includes a table made up of legs I0 and longitudinal and cross members ll, l2 respectively. The top 13 of the table serves as a support for the fabric and it is mounted on the frame in any suitable manner. Spike feed rolls l4, l5 are mounted at the ends of the table with their upper surfaces lying tangent to the plane of the fabric support. The rolls rotate in bearings 16 on standards i! supported by the table frame.

The fabric passing over support if is engaged near the middle of the support by a pair of spiked rolls I8,l9 which lie beneath openings in the table with their upper surfaces tangent to the top of the table. The shafts of rolls 18,!9 are mounted in bearings 20 in a pair of structural members 2|, one at each side of the machine. Another structural member 22 rests on each member 20 and the member 22 includes a pair of brackets 23 which support a block 24 having a transverse channel 25 in its upper end. A slide 26 having an inclined top surface lies within the channel 25, and it is movable endwise by a screw 27 threaded into its end and passing through a bracket 28 attached to one of the brackets 23. The screw is provided with a hand wheel 29 at its end. A plate 36 lies above slide 26 and it is provided with downward extensions 3| which lie on either side of the slide and of block 24. A pair of plates 32 secured to block 24 on either side of each extension 3| serve as guides therefor. The plate 30 is provided at each end with wear plates 33,34 which extend downwardly between extensions 3| to bear on the inclined upper surface of the slide. With this arrangement, movement of slides 26 at each side of the machine causes plates 30 to move up or down in unison, and the vertical movement of plates 30 is guided by plates 32 acting against the edges of the downward extensions 3| of plate 39.

At its upper end, each plate 30 has an opening through which extends a bushing 35 encircling a shaft 36, which is held against movement by a clamp 31 tightly engaging the shaft and secured to plate 30 by a bolt 38. A double sprocket wheel 39 is mounted on one of the sleeves 35 and is keyed thereto. Y

The shaft 36 supportsga drum 40 which is made up of end plates 4|, each, having a hub 42 keyed to sleeve 35. The cylindrical part of the drum is formed by a sheet of perforated metal 43 extending between the end plates and secured to flanges thereon. A roller '44 is mounted within the drum on a shaft 45 which runs in bearings in hangers 46 which straddle the fixed shaft 36. A bearing block 47 lies between the legs of each hanger, and the hanger is provided at its top with an adjustment screw 48 which is threaded into the top of the block. By means of the adjustment screws, roller 44 can be raised and lowered relatively to the innerlsurface of the drum. The roller is covered with a layer 49 of relatively soft fabric, and normally the roller is adjusted so that the covering makes direct contact with the inner surface of the perforated sheet of the drum.

Each of the structural members 2| is supported on a base 56 mounted on cross members |2a of the frame. At each end, each structural member is provided with a pair of downward extensions which lie in front of and behind upward extensions from base 50. A pair of plates 52,53

- secured to the base lies on either side of each extension at each end of the member 2|, and the plates guide the extensions in the vertical movement of member 2|. The top of base 50 is formed with a channel in which runs a slide 54, formed with a pair of inclined top surfaces 55, which provide the slide with two wedges. Each wedge portion of the slide lies between the downward extensions 5| at one end of the structural member 2|, and wear plates 56 attached to the extensions engage the inclined surfaces of the wedges. The slide 54 is movable by a screw 51 threaded into its end and passing through a bracket 58 attached to the base. The screw carries a hand wheel 59 at its end, and by turning the screws of the slides at opposite sides of the machine, the two structural members 2| may be moved vertically, carrying with them the rolls |8,|9. Such movement of the structural members 2| also causes movement of the drum 46, but the position of the drum relative to the structural members 2| can be adjusted by means of the slides 26. With the adjustable construction described, the

rolls l8, l9 may be placed so as to make proper' contact with the fabric without raising it from filler cap 16.

e the top of the table, and the position of 46 may be adjusted so that the stencil sheet makes contact with the tips of the pile tufts without bending the tufts.

A suction chamber 66 is mounted beneath the fabric support in an opening therethrough, and the chamber has an orifice 6| about /4 wide at its top which lies in the plane of the top of the support in position to engage the under surfaceof the fabric moving along the support. The chamber is aligned with the axis of the drum and so that the suction acts on the fabric along a line immediately beneath the line of contact of the drum and fabric. The chamber is connected by a pipe 62 having a valve 63 to a suction pump 64 driven by motor 65, and by regulation of the valve and the motor, the suction maintained in the chamber can be maintained as desired. Ordinarily, the suction used will be equivalent to about 4" of water.

The shafts of rolls l8, l9 carry double sprocket gears 66, 61, respectively, and one of the gears 66 is connected by a chain 68 to a sprocket wheel 69 on the shaft of roll it. One of the gears 6? is similarly connected by a chain '76 to a sprocket wheel 1| on the shaft of roll |5. The other sprocket wheels 66, 61 are connected, respectively, by chains l2, '33 to respective sprocket wheels 39 attached todrum 66. Power is transmitted to the machine through the shaft of one of the rolls l4, l5 by means not shown, and the sprocket wheels of the various rolls and the drum are of such size that the rolls and drum all travel with the same surface speed.

In the practice of the method by the use of the apparatus disclosed, a stencil sheet i l is wrapped about the drum and held in place by clamps l5 secured to the drum near its ends. The sheet employed for the purpose is a fabric, ordinarily silk, of fine weave, and it is made impervious throughout all areas in the pattern except those that are to be of the same color. With the stencil sheet in place, the coloring material is introduced into the drum through a the consistency of paste so that it will not flow freely through the perforated wall of the drum and through the stencil sheet. The coloring matter may take the form of a dye mixed with a starch or flour paste, or with a gum paste.

If desired, pigments in emulsion form rather than soluble dyes, may be used with the paste. The coloring matter is ordinarily introduced into the drum in a quantity sufficient to fill the lower part of the drum up to about the level of the axis of roller 44.

The fabric is then started across the support,

and rolls |8, H! are adjusted by means of their slides 54 to cause them to engage the under surface of the fabric so that they can advance it without slipping. The position of the drum 4!] is then adjusted by means of its slides 26, the drum being disposed so that the stencil sheet makes light contact with the tips of the tufts of the fabric. This adjustment of the drum is necessary, since the fabric to be printed may have pile of varying heights. When the adjustments have been made, the fabric lies flat upon the top of the table and, since the openings in the table top, through which rolls l8, l6 and suction chamber 66 project, are only slightly wider than the areas of the rolls in contact with the fabric and also the orifice end of the chamber, the fabric is rigidly supported from beneath throughout substantially the entire The coloring material used is of of the pile.

As the fabric passes over the support, coloring matter is squeezed through the stencil sheet by the pinching action of roll 44 pressing on the inner surface of the drum at the lowest point.

thereof. At the same time, the suction applied to the back of the fabric in the line of application of the color draws the coloring matter down into the pile to the fabric backing. The amount of color deposited on the pile may be varied by adjusting the position of roller 44 and the suction will also be varied depending upon the height Since the coloring matter is deposited on the pile while the latter is in erect and undistorted condition, the colored areas produced by printing have sharp, clean edges.

In one passage of the fabric through the machine, all areas of the pattern which have the same color are printed thereon. If the design includes a number of colors, several different stencil sheets will be required, and the several printing operations may be carried on in separate the production thereof is much less expensive than weaving operations, in which colored yarns are used to obtain pattern effects.

We claim:

A- method of printing a pattern upon the pile of a pile fabric by means of a cylindrical stencil sheet mounted for rotation on a horizontal axis, which comprises maintaining a body of coloring matter on the inner surface of the sheet at the bottom thereof, advancing the'fabric with its pile up below the sheet in a direction at right angles to the axis of rotation of the sheet, causing the sheet to make light contact with the tips of the pile tufts of the fabric along a line at right angles to the direction of movement of the fabric, without distorting the tufts, by rigidly supporting the fabric from beneath in a plane over substantial areas at both sides of the line of contact of the sheet and fabric, rotating the sheet at the same surface speed as the fabric, forcing coloring matter through the sheet along said line of contact, and applying suction to the fabric through its under surface along said line of contact.

HOWARD L. SHUTTLEWOR'I'H. GARFIELD J. UNDERWOOD. LEWIS R. JONES.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,109,332 Hershey Sept. 1, 1914 917,030 Erler Apr. 6, 1909 913,274 Erler Feb. 23, 1909 440,750 Shinn Nov. 18, 1890 

